The Top Ten Highest Paid Managers in the English Premier League - Part 4: Arsene Wenger & Ancelotti
Arsene Wenger surprisingly makes it to number 2 at £6m per season, even though the Frenchman has been unable to win any trophies with the London club since 2005. He has managed Arsenal since 1996, and is considered the most successful manager in the club’s history while considering silverware and time serving at the club. He holds the honour of being the first non-British manager to win the double in England – the Premier League and the FA Cup, first in 1998 and then in 2002. In 2004, he achieved an impressive feat: Arsenal went the 2004 season without a single defeat, making Wenger the first manager in FA Premier League history to do this. After his hugely successful spells at AS Monaco and Arsenal, he is easily regarded as one of the best managers in the world. David Dein, the former Arsenal vice-chairman, said that the Frenchman was a “miracle worker.” Wenger is fluent in French, German and English and speaks a little of Italian, Spanish and Japanese, which removes any possibility of lack of communication or miscommunication with players. Some notable pundits have described Wenger as a coach who “has spent his career building teams that combine the accumulation of silverware with a desire to entertain and attack,” and “a purist, dedicated to individual and collective technical quality.” His winning team was exceptional and the focus was mainly on the collective effort. However, Arsenal under him has seen a decline, the blame for which was given to his preference for young talent. He signed the then young, unknown players: Patrick Vieira, Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie and Kolo Toure. They have said to be proved to be valuable investments, but the current form of the club suggests otherwise.
At number one is none other than Carlo Ancelotti with £6.5m per annum until 2012. Some would even argue that the Italian manager is underpriced, but that is expected from the Blues management, especially after the expensive mistake that was Luiz Felipe Scolari. Since then, Roman Abramovich has become more cautious with his money, but Ancelotti is definitely worth much more. Since being appointed to manage Milan in 2001, Ancelotti won the Scudetto, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League twice; he repeated domestic success when he took over London club Chelsea – leading them to their first ever double, the Premier League and the FA Cup. His contract with the Blues was a three-year contract worth £9 million, which made him the highest paid manager in the word. With his takeover, he stabilized the club, even though predecessor Guus Hiddink didn’t do too bad a job in his little time with the club. He had a chance to win silverware early on in the season with the Community Shield against Manchester United; however, Chelsea did not do too well in the other cup competitions. They were defeated in the quarterfinal stage of the Carling Cup and lost out to former manager Jose Mourinho’s Inter in the Champions League. However, Chelsea dominated in the league, setting records as they beat Manchester United by one point to lift the trophy. The team scored a total of 103 goals in their campaign for the Premier League, the first time since Tottenham in the 1962-1963 season. Apart from that, the Blues finished the season in style, winning 8-0 over Wigan Athletic at Stamford Bridge. The Italian, who has won various Manager of the Year awards, revealed that he would like to continue coaching Chelsea for at least another ten years before he moved on the Italian national team.
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